


Ghosting

by rejuit



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24391264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rejuit/pseuds/rejuit
Summary: In real life, there is no happily ever after. The story continues, and the consequences and aftermath of the events must be dealt with. For Minkowski, coming home to her husband was a comfort, but it turns out that she's not the only one in need of comforting. Turns out that things aren't so easy when your spouse has thought you were dead for quite a while.
Relationships: Dominik Koudelka/Renée Minkowski
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	Ghosting

Like many things, lazy mornings had been an adjustment. It was strange not having to wake up to the sound of Hera’s alarm, not getting to work on something that was broken, nobody needing to be commanded. She was still up at an ungodly hour every morning. Whether that was her military training or her internal clock being ruined by the darkness of space, she wasn’t sure.

Dominik still wouldn’t let her go back to work, and her therapist agreed. Renée personally thought this was ridiculous, but they _had _been uncovering a lot of trauma in their therapy sessions lately, both individual and joint, so she supposed she should listen to them.__

__Still, she had her routine. First order of business every morning was to check up on the crew. Social medias were frequented, and calls were made or texts sent to those who were already awake. Next was to get up out of bed and take a shower. One nice thing about being back was she never had to worry about whether or not she would have warm water, and she made sure to take advantage of that. After she was finished, she would sit on the porch with a cup of coffee, watching the birds flit around the bird feeder as the dawn began to break. Dominik would be up not much later, either heading off to work or making breakfast if it was a day off._ _

__Today was the latter. She could hear him in the kitchen, the sound of something sizzling already making her stomach growl. A smile crossed her face, taking a deep breath in before sipping her coffee again. Nothing about this whole coming home thing had been easy, but the one thing she loved the most was getting to come home to Dom. Seeing the look on his face when she had walked through the front door was something she’d never forget. She’d missed his smile, his laugh, the feeling of his strong arms enveloping her in a big hug… And the fact that he had been so quick to agree to letting Eiffel stay with them until he had been ready to leave just reminded her all the more why she loved him so much. His gentle spirit was something that she’d always admired._ _

__Downing the last bit of coffee, Renée stood, eyeing a robin that had stopped to eat one last time before heading inside. She padded barefoot across the hardwood floors, stopping in the kitchen doorway to fondly watch her husband cooking. Their kitchen was nice and open, and, thanks to Dominik’s salary, big enough to house all of the equipment and appliances they’d wanted. They both enjoyed cooking, especially together, so her husband had spared no expense in making sure that the room they’d possibly spend most of their time in was perfect._ _

__Hm… strange… he only had out one plate. Not the first time, of course; he’d become accustomed to living alone and had often forgotten at the beginning to make enough for three. But it had been a while now since he’d done that, not since Eiffel had lived with them if she remembered right._ _

__Pushing herself up to sit on the counter near him, Renée teased, “What, are you planning on starving me? I know I’ve put on some weight since I got back from space, but I think that’s healthy considering the food I was eating up there.”_ _

__Dominik jumped; he must not have heard her come in. A bit embarrassed, he flipped the egg he was cooking and reached over to crack another, glancing over for a second before turning his attention back to the stove._ _

__“I’m sorry… slipped my mind. Just…” He trailed off, cheeks flushed._ _

__Poor thing seemed to feel awful about it… She’d been hoping he knew she was joking._ _

__“Hey… don’t worry about it, hun.” She reached behind her, opening the cabinet to retrieve a plate for herself. “I was messing with you; it’s honestly not a big deal.”_ _

__Still, his brow furrowed as he watched the egg whites bubble. He had that look, that look where he was deep in thought. He’d always been much more apt to contemplate than her, and he was very good at keeping bottled up unless prodded to talk._ _

__Renée’s eyes softened, and she scooted a bit closer, running a hand through his curls and pressing a kiss to his temple. “Something on your mind?”_ _

__At first she thought he was either ignoring her or hadn’t heard her, but after a few seconds he halted what he was doing, turning off the burner so that the eggs wouldn’t burn. When he turned to her, her heart clenched at the fear in his eyes, the brims of them welling with tears._ _

__“Min… Is this… real?”_ _

__She paused, a bit confused. “Wh… what are you talking about?”_ _

__“This.” He waved a hand. “You being here, being back in one piece. Are you sure it’s real?”_ _

__Renée frowned, unsure what exactly to say to that. “What do you mean?” she asked, setting the plate down next to her. “Of course it’s real. I’m right here. Look-“ She took his hand, pressing it to her cheek. She couldn’t help sinking into its warmth a bit. “See? Flesh and bone. I’m not going anywhere.”_ _

__Dominik sighed, glancing away. “I know, but… Renée, when I thought you died… I denied it for a long time. I needed proof. When I thought Goddard had given it to me… Well, I grieved. And part of that grieving was seeing you. Not just metaphorically seeing you, like seeing you in the things that you enjoy, but actually _seeing _you. It felt real too, just like this. You would show up for a bit, laughing and talking to me like nothing was wrong, and then inevitably you’d disappear again, because that’s all it ever was. Just my own mind playing tricks on me. I could hug you, or kiss you, but then you would be gone and I’d be left alone again.”___ _

____“Dom…” She clutched the hand on her face and lowered it to clasp her other hand around it as well. She’d known he’d thought she was dead and that he would be upset about it, but it wasn’t ever something she’d thought about at length. It was easy in all of the pain and trauma she’d been through to forget that he’d been hurt by this too._ _ _ _

____The tears finally started to silently roll down his cheeks, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he rested his forehead against hers. “How do I know it’s different this time? How can I be sure it’s really you after all this time? What if it’s just another hallucination and I wake up only for you to be gone again?”_ _ _ _

____“Shhh, hey, that’s not going to happen.” Renée could feel herself starting to choke up as she took his face in her hands, softly kissing him. “You want to know what’s different? You said that I would be here like nothing was wrong. But this time… things have definitely been wrong. I’m uneasy too. We’ve been going to therapy, I’ve been jumping at nothing… My sleep schedule is wack and I wake up crying from nightmares that are all too familiar. I can’t bring myself to use the pool because feeling weightless nearly gives me a panic attack. I smell chai and I want to throw up.” She looked him in the eye. “Things are far from okay, and I’m not about to pretend like they are. But neither should you. If you’re feeling this way, you have got to tell me. Dr. Simmons is right when she says we have to communicate. It’s not just me who’s having to adjust to a new normal; it’s you too. It’s okay to feel lost or maybe like things feel a bit surreal. Just make sure that you’re communicating that with me and that you’re bringing it up in our therapy sessions too.”_ _ _ _

____Heaving a shuddering sob, Dominik shook his head. “I wish I’d told you not to go… I couldn’t tell you no, it was your dream… but I should have. I hated that you were going to be gone so long. But I didn’t try to stop you and now you’re hurting and I’m hurting and…”_ _ _ _

____“Stop.” A steely glare crossed Renée’s face. “Don’t you even think about blaming yourself for this. This isn’t your fault, and it isn’t mine. Things happened that both you and I couldn’t control. It sucks, and part of me wishes it didn’t happen. But I met a lot of good people I never would have otherwise, and I know they needed me there. And we’re going to deal with this fallout. It’ll take time, but you’ve been telling me this whole time that we’ll make it out on the other side and you’re right. Because at the end of the day, we have each other. We’ve made it through a lot together. We’ve had flooding, that Christmas in Greenland…” She laughed. “Do you remember that time you tried to be romantic and set up a bunch of candles in the bedroom and accidentally started a fire?”_ _ _ _

____Dominik chuckled, starting to wipe away his tears. A soft smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t remind me of that… I was so embarrassed when the fire department showed up…”_ _ _ _

____“Probably not the first time they’d heard a story like that, but nonetheless awkward.” Renée smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. Closing her eyes, she rested her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and melting into him as he hugged her back. Yeah… this was real. This was him, and this was her. They were both actually here, holding on to the thing keeping them afloat._ _ _ _

____“I promise, I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered, tightening her grip. “I know things aren’t okay right now, but they will be, Dom. It’s never going to go back to normal, but we’ll find a new normal. Together.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah… together.” She could feel him smile as he buried his face in her hair. “For better or worse, right?”_ _ _ _

____“Right.” Renée pulled back to give him another kiss, her breath catching as he pressed into it, intertwining his fingers in her curls. She’d never get over how he made her feel. He never failed to let her know that she was wanted and loved._ _ _ _

____Breaking off the kiss, she ruffled his hair with a grin. “Okay, now, if you please, I’ve been up since about 3:30 AM and I’m very hungry.”_ _ _ _

____Dominik chuckled, sliding the egg that was finished onto her plate as he started the stove back up. “There, just take mine.”_ _ _ _

____“No way!” Renée grimaced. “It’s probably cold now, and you like your eggs over easy!”_ _ _ _

____“Listen, I can't help it if you’re picky about how you like the yolk. If that’s the case then don’t complain about being hungry.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m not picky, I just think runny yolk is disgusting and can’t understand why you would eat that.” Despite her protests, she smiled, sliding off of the counter and walking over to the refrigerator to grab the bacon._ _ _ _

____Yeah. As long as she had him, things were going to turn out just fine._ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! And a big thank you to Julia for proofreading this for me!


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